SAN MARCOS — As Taft players held back tears and doled out condolence hugs in their dugout Friday night, all catcher Ryler Moreno could think about was how differently the scene looked from the way she envisioned.

She was certain her Raiders had the firepower to earn the school's first trip to the Class 5A tournament in over a decade, a belief that seemed justified after more than five innings of controlling Austin Bowie in the Region IV-5A final.

The sophomore's confidence never swayed — even as the game did.

Down three runs in the bottom of the sixth inning, Bowie's potent bats came alive with five runs on six hits to spark a stunning 5-3 victory in the one-game playoff at Texas State's Bobcat Stadium.

Having seen their lead vanish, the Raiders (25-10) still gave themselves a glimmer of hope by loading the bases with two away in the seventh. But Moreno grounded into a game-ending force-out at third base, sending the Dawgs (28-13) to state for the third time in four years.

“I always knew we would come back; I knew I was going to hit,” Moreno said.

“It just didn't happen.”

Taft had played Bowie to near perfection early, giving ace Vianna Gutierrez breathing room with three runs in the third. But things came unraveled in the sixth.

Bowie's Jaime Edwards led off the frame with a triple to right-center field, a hit that proved costly when Taft's shortstop overshot a throw to first on a grounder moments later. The error brought in Edwards, opening the door for what was to come.

Four batters later, Lauren Gforerer put down a beautiful bunt down the third-base line to tie the score at 3-3. Then, with the bases loaded and just one away, Alli Akina drove in the go-ahead run on a hard-hit single that ricocheted off the shortstop's glove.

“If this was the way it was supposed to happen, it's the way it was supposed to happen.”

Afterward, coach Katy Hummel walked around the Raiders' dugout, clutching her players and expressing her gratification in their effort.

“What I loved most about my girls was coming back with the bottom of the lineup and getting the bases loaded (in the seventh),” she said. “It was all about heart right there. You can't be more proud as a coach.”